Wednesday Apple Rumors: 100 Designers Working on iWatch

The project team has been growing for more than a year

Wrist Rumors: Insider sources tell Bloomberg that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has put together a large team of managers, marketing experts, engineers and designers to develop a smartwatch. The team includes 100 designers tasked with adding some functions currently performed by devices like the iPad and iPhone to the wearable device. The size of the team has expanded over the past twelve months, suggesting that Apple is completing the product development stage and may be nearing a possible launch. A slew of media reports in the last week have hinted at the wristwatch project, but Apple has steadfastly declined comment on the stories. According to the sources, the company’s senior director of engineering is also working on the project. However, the sources noted that the company has developed wearable computing products in the past without ever bringing them to market.

Revenue Streams: Apple makes more money from accessory sales and digtal sales on iTunes than almost every other smartphone maker generated from phone sales, MacRumors notes. Only Samsung’s phone sales topped revenue from Apple’s accessory and iTunes sales, according to an analysis by industry research firm Asymco. Apple’s combined revenue from iTunes and accessory sales topped $5.5 billion during its first fiscal quarter of 2013. That beat the revenue from phone sales generated by Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Blackberry (NASDAQ:BBRY), Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Motorola, LG, Sony (NYSE:SNE) and HTC. In terms of revenue, iTunes is bigger than Microsoft‘s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone and Xbox businesses, combined.

Southern Trouble: Apple has lost a battle with a small company over the use of the iPhone name in Brazil, the BBC notes. The Institute of Industrial Property, which regulates trademarks in Brazil has sided with Gradiente Electronica, which said it filed for a trademark on the iPhone name years before Apple introduced its iPhone in 2007. Apple is appealing the decision, according to Brazilian regulators. Apple can legally continue to sell iPhones in Brazil, but could face litigation from Gradiente over the name.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.